Opera at USC presents two comedic one-act operas April 15 and 16

The FREE performance includes Bon Appétit! with Janet Hopkins and Mozart’s The Impresario

The Lanny and Sidney Palmer One Act Series presents a delightful weekend of comedic
operas at the USC School of Music Recital Hall (813 Assembly St). The free performance, a double feature, takes place on Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 and Sunday,
April 16 at 3:00 p.m.

Opera at USC, directed by Ellen Douglas Schlaefer, presents two fully staged operas with orchestra each year and presents an evening
of One Act Operas each spring.

Bon Appétit! by Lee Hoiby, featuring mezzo-soprano Janet Hopkins, is a comic culinary extravaganza that taps the wit and antics of one of America’s
best-loved television personalities, the (almost) inimitable Julia Child. Hopkins,
professor of voice at the University of South Carolina, is a 16-year veteran of the
Metropolitan Opera in New York and has thrilled audiences on stages across America.
She has been called “angel voiced” by The Washington Post and “a vintage diva” by The New York Times. Billed as a musical monologue, Hopkins, as Julia Child, creates an episode of the
popular cooking show with text by Julia Child adapted by Mark Shulgasser.

Mr. Scruples, an over-worked, overwrought impresario has given up on his theater and
his vision in Mozart’s The Impresario. Mr. Bluff, his assistant, is desperately trying to keep Scruples and his theater
afloat. Through Bluff’s gregarious sweet-talk, he convinces the impresario to audition
some highly sought-after, presumptuous sopranos. Hilarity ensues as the two sopranos
try to outdo each other in high notes, a tenor intervenes by way of a trio, and in
the end a quartet sings “Every artist strives for glory.”

Opera at USC is one of only a handful of colleges and universities nationwide that offers special
training and practice for aspiring opera stage directors. Students gain practical
stage experience by participating in the operas onstage and off. Opera at USC offers
a comprehensive program for both graduate and undergraduate students, covering every
facet of opera production, both on stage and behind the scenes.